I've grown up (actually since the age of 19, so really I've grown OLD) with Toronto's radio station 1050 CHUM. It's an inocuous pop music station that's gone through a lot of changes over the years, all of them 'market driven'. When it played current rock and pop during the eighties and nineties I simply didn't listen to it, 'cause I could relate to those songs and bands. When it was a Sports station, I didn't listen 'cause even though I love sports, hearing couch potatoes call in day after day with the same Basketball comments and questions was too much.

Well, a week ago they fired all the Sports Jock people and announced that "Oldies were back"! OK...sounds great. Now hopefully they meant REAL oldies for the Boomer generation, and not Captain And Tennile shit, or worse...Nine Inch Nails (who ARE a nostalgia act to millions of folks)

Yup, the period was right (Late fifties to late sixties) and the music was great. But then something started to be VERRRRY disturbing.....

"Poetry in Motionnnnn", hey was that Johnny Tillotsen or Carl Dobkins Jr.

"Standin' On a Mountain Lookin' Down on The City...." Wow! The original Harold Dorman (my favourite one hit wonder's name) or the Johnnie Rivers cover? Please...SOMEONE on the radio...tell me!

Oh boy...some great "B" side Surf music! But who IS IT? Is it Jan and Dean? Dick Dale and the Deltones? The Surfaris? Might it even be Link Wray??!!

The WHOLE FRIGGIN' STATION IS AUTOMATED!! Not one local human voice to say WHO SANG THE FRIGGIN' SONG!

Now I don't know about you, Mudcat friends, but my music memory ain't perfect and I can't sleep if I don't know whether that was Sonny James or Tab Hunter singing "Young Love". (the Donny Osmond version I CAN recognise!)

If the stations (and this automated pre-programmed format is used on Hundreds of stations) are trying that hard to save on DJs' salaries, couldn't they do a kind of 'part-time afficianado' thing like college radio does? Hell, I've been doin' my folk show on CIUT for free for 15 years, 'cause I LOVE folk music. I bet there's a LOT of "Rock Nurds" who'd LOVE to do an oldies show WITH COMMENTARY!

Oh, what I'd give to have a:

Oldies Drama and comedy station (that I could get clearly in Toronto)

Country music from the thirties to the sixties, show.

Rant over. Anyone else feel that strongly?

Cheers

Rick

I live in a radio wasteland. CBC is wonderful, but sometimes I want more variety and I dislike pop-rock/soft-rock/no-rocks/lick-my-rocks/DJ-blather/background-noise type radio. Your complaint about no tune/song commentary/description is right on the money and enough to make me pop in a cd.

I remember my older siblings tuning in to CHUM when I was still in single digit years, and I'm 44 now! I don't live in the CHUM listening area any more, but its spasms over the years have been well documented in the press, better documented than their own playlists on the air.

You're right, Rick.

Mooh.

Rant on:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that's all I'll say about "it"!

Rant off.

Hmm, I feel better. Maybe words are less important than I had thought. *G*

~S~

CSS. Can't spell.... you guessed it.

~S~

And part of that was cutting "voice tracks" to back-announce the selections that were played. I had the song lists for each tape and the log showing when the commercials and other stuff were supposed to be aired. The only tricky part was being sufficiently precise when adding up the times to make sure the station IDs happened within two minutes of the top of the hour. While programming, I would write down which song would be played when, then take the resultant list, grab a cartridge, go into the production room, and announce them as if I were actually on the air. Took about half an hour. Then I'd stick the cart in the appropriate slot in the carousel and at the appropriate moment (midnight exactly), flip the switch on Frankenstein, make a note on the log, and go home. It was a bit eerie to listen to myself on the car radio as I was driving home.

And a couple of years later, I did the same thing for a year at KORD in Pasco, WA. If done right, there is absolutely no way that a listener can tell whether the station is running automated or live board. And that was using equipment extant thirty years ago. I'm sure the equipment available now is far more sophisticated and versatile than what I was using. There's absolutely no excuse for not telling people what they've been listening to.

Don Firth

In addition to the neglected music years you mention toward the end of your post, to fully satisfy me, it would also have to include movies from the 40's as well of course.

DougR

Yeah, I remember getting the new Chum Chart every week. Then I discovered Chum FM. That used to be a great station, man did it ever lose it's way.

Gareth

Several years back, I approached the local all oldies station in Stamford, CT, where I was working. I wanted to get some public service announcements on the air. As it turned out, their FM station did it, but not the AM. When I went to talk to the Manager, I'm sure that I didn't further my cause. He asked if I listened to the oldies station and I said, "No, I don't listen to it because I love oldies." He looked a little puzzled, so I explained. I said that I don't want to keep hearing the same automated cycle of a few hits that either I've heard to the point of hating them, or never want to hear again by Tommy Roe or Gene Pitney and the rest. I asked him why all they play is one or two Chuck Berry songs and he acknowledged that even though the station is on 24/7, they just keep rotating the same 200 songs. They just buy the tapes from somewhere. I kind of picture the janitor coming in every three or four hours and putting a new tape on. I asked him why they couldn't play a greqt diversity, inclduing album cuts, "B" sides and records that didn't crack the top 40, and his answer was obvious. You couldn't make as much money that way. I told him that if I ran his station, it would be alot more interesting to listen to, and I'd probably put them out of business in a week. But, what a week it would be!

But, he's right, in a business sense. The people who listen to the station just want a nostalgia nudge. They don't want to hear a lesser record by Fats Domino or Chuck Berry. They want to remember making out to the song in the back of their 57 Chevy (so they listen to the station while they're washing their Toyota in the driveway, with the kids yelling up a storm in the backyard.

Music and money. They rarely mix....

I could tell you whether it was Tab Hunter or Sonny James... :-)

Jerry

But Don is right, weather excepted, there was no way at all to tell that there was not a soul at the station. My understanding is that they tried to get there in time to be of some use, but the emergency was over by then.

I am very familiar with how one weekly show of live performances goes on the air. The songs from live shows are cut to CD, then transferred to MP3 and emailed to the station. The show host records his intro and outro descriptions of each segment to mp3 also, and emails them to the station. There the separate parts are assembled into the finished show, with commercials added, and the average listener has no idea that the announcer has never once entered the booth at the station.

Ain't even going to get into the politics of the media on this thread but find "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits" and buy the danged book. You won't have any throuble finding answers to any of your questions becuase of the way the book is laid out. And it's a hoot just to go thru it now and then for gtins... Buy the book.

Bobert

Radio as therapy. God bless the CBC.

(ChumCharts, man that takes me back! Had to take the bus to downtown Brantford, what weekly(?), to get them.)

Peace, Mooh.

Rick - you can now have a personal 24/7 radio broadcast via the web -

Hello Out There - If no one is listening - is it radio?

If you were as old as I am, you'd find Joel Washburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 good bathroom reading material. It's arranged by artist, and includes every top 40 hit they recorded with dates, highest position the record charted and number of weeks it was in the top 40. And then it lists every top 40 song, alphabetically as an index.

Jerry

In a triad that's against the law!

To me rikrance, gotta dance, Amos wears a dress,

Oops, the cat just made a mess."

Well Jerry, I know the difference between Tab and Sonny too........BUT......some of the names are friggin' driving me crazy!! I didn't know about the "Billboard Book" Thanks folks, I'll get it.

On the other hand since we ARE talkin' about the Golden days of radio......anyone know (without the book) what Carl Dobkins Jr. sang? How about Paul Evans?

Cheers

Rick

I mentioned it to Chopper McKinnon, who has a long-running Saturday morning folk show on CKCU-FM in Ottawa, and he said he knows the guy that programs it and that guy gets a lot of his selections just from listening to Chopper's show!

I am not sure if there's a moral or a lesson here. But the reception quality makes it (satellite) a good media delivery system out here in the hills.

W-O

Can sympathize with your rant Rick, we were doing the same thing here a couple of weeks ago. We have a relatively new AM 900 world music station here and its so frustrating...! Some really really great folk and roots and they never ever let you know who's doing it. How the hell are we supposed to support the artists!

:>)

A

Of course WITH the DJs come the commercials....but I think that's OK. I can live with it. What I CAN'T live with is the DJ who says "OK guys and girls here's a REAL oldie from 1976!!!" (it was Jackson Hawke who I'd barely heard of) In my book a REAL oldie is Paul Evans singing "Seven Little Girls" (yer right Met about Carl jr) or Elvis doin' Heartbreak Hotel.

Now I've heard a rumour that to Doug R. a REAL oldie is Edison saying "Come here Watson, I need you"!! Sorry Doug, just kiddin'

"This ol' man he played 'sol'

He played 'sol' with Helmut Kohl.

To me rikrance, soggypance, Aim us out 'is nose,

looks like tea, but heaven knows.

DougR

I just came from the other forum I use, Seventh Gear which is a CART racing forum, and the Canadians in and around Toronto have been up in arms about the format change. They lost a favorite racing show called 'Raceline'.

Although, Its not hard to voice track up a DJ. Down here in Windsor, a friend of mine is a DJ for 89X radio. He usually does 3 or four graveyard shifts a week, but does them safely from his bed. They automate the night, so he goes in and voicetracks the overnight around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Guess its the cheap way of doing things. The computer is setup so perfectly that he can state times during his show, and will be pretty much on. Anyone listening overnight, (and I work graveyard) wouldn't be able to know the difference.

Steve

I LOVE everything and everybody....I think I'll go out and weed my neighbour's lawn.

Rick

LOL!!!

A

God how I hate the 21st Century. And ya know what? The 20th Century sucked too.

LOL, Tony

In both of the above mentioned formats, they still do oldies shows (among others) with real live DJs and yes they even discuss what they are playing, and by whom.

I havent listened to comercial radio in years and speaking for myself, I doubt if I'm missing anything.

All the best, Glen